Rain Fell Within - Refuge (2002)

Back in the day I was really into the whole, 'female singer in metal bands thing.' Honestly when I look back at those days (I'm talking ten years ago here) I realize the reason why I got so much into bands like Tristania, Lacuna Coil, Nightwish and Virginia, USA's own, Rain Fell Within was because I'd never heard metal with female vocals before and I found it to be refreshing and exciting.

Rain Fell Within, as already mentioned, was from Virginia, USA and during their eight year run they released a demo in '98 titled, 'Solemn Days,' their debut full-length, 'Believe' came in '00 and their final creation, 'Refuge' was released in 2002. Musically they were a female fronted metal band that was heavy on the keyboards while the metal elements are actually somewhat pushed into the background (meaning there isn't any wild Iron Maiden-ish solos or killer riffs here, folks).

Lead singer Dawn used an operatic vocal style similar to someone like Tarja from Nightwish and while I remember back in the day lot's of people complained about Dawn's voice I can honestly say I always thought it was fantastic. There is a bit of a wild edge to her voice though, which some may find corny, but I think that's what added to it and actually gave her a more distinct presence among other singers. Her keyboard work is also the dominating instrument on this recording as it's quite neo classical, dark and atmospheric in character and frankly I love it. Lyrically she sings about pain, sorrow and revenge from a heavily female point of view.

As I mentioned earlier the actual metal portion of the music is a bit pushed into the background due to the lousy production job. The guitars and bass are certainly there and you can hear some cool riffs here and there, but the vocals and keyboards are loud and dominate everything, while the drums, although sounding quite good are merely a suffocating rumble in the distance. In the end though, it's all about the vocals and the keyboards and for that this band succeeds enormously. One listen to songs like, 'Torn Apart,' 'Save your Soul,' 'Into the Tower' or 'Burned Away' and I'm sure you'll be hooked on this band.

I remember quite well shortly after this album was released I was obsessed with it for several months and I even did an interview with the band back in those days. I recall through that interview the band seemed optimistic about the future, but shortly after they suddenly broke up. Five of the seven members went onto a band named, Ephemeral Sun, while Dawn released a solo recording, which frankly I'd rather not speak of, because it wasn't too good. Backing vocalist Laurie also got a new band together called, Todesbonden, which again featured three Rain Fell Within members.

It's a true shame Rain Fell Within couldn't work their inner conflicts out, because I'm quite sure if they'd stuck it out they'd be a big name in the atmospheric female fronted metal genre these days. At least they left us with this fitting final document, which I strongly recommend checking out.